The Beauty and the Tragedy
by xBlackxRosexRebellionx
Summary: Aimsley Gray wakes up alone on an abandoned street with no memory of who she is or how she arrived in the fog-ridden town of Silent Hill. She is faced with the brutal reality that it is kill or be killed in this new horror that has become her life. But when Alessa discovers that there is an innocent soul in Silent Hill, a game of cat and mouse ensues. Rated M for violence, sex, etc


**Author's Note:**

 **INSPIRATION:** Well, on Halloween, I decided to watch Silent Hill and, low and behold, I was struck with an idea for a story about none other than Pyramid Head himself. The idea spiraled from there, becoming this complex creature all of its own volition. So I couldn't help but flow with it – when you're a writer and an idea hits you, you run with it before your brain decides to either forget that idea or refuse to come up with any other ideas for you. So here it is.

This story essentially replaces the second movie of the franchise and some of the ideas within this story kind of piggyback off of a few concepts found in the second movie. If you've seen the second movie, I'm sure you'll realize which ones I'm talking about as the story progresses. If you haven't, I'll explain them when the time comes. This is _my_ version of a sequel to the first Silent Hill movie and, while I've incorporated some of the ideas used in the second movie, I've given my own unique spin on them so that it doesn't follow along like the second movie in the franchise does. This story is an entirely different animal, having different characters, a mostly different plot line, and different themes and elements used within it. So I hope you enjoy it.

 **GAMES VS. MOVIES:** If you're familiar with either the movies or the games they were based on, you'll see that I've taken some liberties with this Silent Hill-based story. Some of the creatures you find in the chapters will be from the games. Some will be from the movies. Some are found in both but I chose to go with one version or the other. I just hope that I was able to do the series justice and that I was able to convey the dark and disturbing tone of the movies and games. I can honestly say that this is probably the most sinister and darkest story I've ever written – and I'm an avid fan of the horror genre. I quite enjoyed pushing my boundaries and trying my hand at something new. So I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

 **THE STORY OF XUCHILBARA:** There were _several_ theories out there about Pyramid Head and the reason for his existence there in Silent Hill. I can't tell you how much research I did or how many hours I spent scouring over the articles and videos there are out there about the lore behind his character and Silent Hill in general. I finally came to the conclusion that I find 2 of these theories to be more believable than the rest. In the movies, it is revealed that Alessa created Pyramid Head with her own demented mind as a means of making those that had wronged her in the past suffer. He serves as the punisher and executioner of Silent Hill in both the movies _and_ the games.

The lore from the games that surrounds Pyramid Head, however, seems to paint him in a different light. Instead of simply being a figment of Alessa's imagination that was brought to life by her anger and hatred, he seems to have existed there in Silent Hill even before Alessa was born. He is shown to be the Red God – a servant of his god and one that was created to punish those that did not follow his god's orders. He is called Xuchilbara – pronounced "Shoo-Keel-Ba-RA" (capitals used in places of emphasis) – and he is thought to be the punisher and executioner of the wicked souls in Silent Hill but the guardian and guide of the innocent souls as well.

I chose to mesh both of these ideas together to a certain extent, drawing from both of these theories in certain respects. My version of Pyramid Head did not exist before Christabella attempted to sacrifice Alessa, having been created by Alessa's twisted mind, being the incarnation of her hatred and rage. Therefore, he serves Alessa, his creator and tormentor, during his reign in Silent Hill. Yet he is also referred to as the "Red God" in some instances, bears the name Xuchilbara, and shares some similarities with the lore about Pyramid Head serving his "god" – like the fact that he punishes those that he has deemed to be sinners and those that have wronged Alessa. Since she created him, she is technically like a god in his eyes. So I hope you'll like my somewhat blended rendition of him.

 **THIS STORY COMES WITH WARNINGS:** There are going to be some very raw and graphic scenes in this story. It is a Silent Hill story with Pyramid Head as one of its main characters. Therefore, there will be murder, rape, torture, disturbing creatures, and other scenarios that occur in the story that some people might find offensive. My intention is not to offend but, rather, to show things in a realistic light. I have _no_ intentions of romanticizing Pyramid Head. He is a very brutal, intense, hyper-sexual, and rage-driven individual and I have no intentions of shying away from showing him at his worst moments. However, I will not write violence, rape, or disturbing scenes just for the sake of shock value. Every scene I write in my stories has a purpose to serve – both for me as a writer as well as the individuals who choose to read my stories. These scenes will be used in a manner that conveys his character – and the other creatures – in a realistic fashion. This is a horror story, not a romance novel. Consider this your fair warning.

 **NO VIOLATION OF RIGHTS INTENDED:** And, of course, I'd like to point out that I don't own the Silent Hill franchise, so all credit for the creatures and characters from the movies and/or video games go to their rightful owners. This _is_ a fan fiction after all. You _will_ find some original characters within the chapters though – Zero and Aimsley in the first chapter and I'll introduce the others as they are introduced into the story – as well as some creatures that are of my own wicked design. And, as always, the songs that I've pulled lyrics from – which I feel suit the chapters quite well – are listed at the end of the chapters in corresponding order.

 **If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Also,** _constructive_ **criticism is greatly appreciated – this does** _not_ **include simply flaming my story or me as a writer. This means offering helpful advice on how to improve the content of the story or improve upon my skills as a writer. Thank you.**

 _ **The Beauty and the Tragedy**_

 _Secret, hidden underneath it,_

 _Trying hard to keep it_  
 _Safely out of reach._  
 _Creeping, I can feel it breathing,_

 _Calling to the surface,_  
 _Find me in my dreams._

 _Sweet despair, feel you devour me..._  
 _Silently, oh won't you carry me_  
 _Home…_

 _Taken down, I give into what I can't disguise._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_  
 _Broken down, I give into what I cannot hide._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Locked in, buried under my skin_  
 _Riding on the whispers, restless in the wind._  
 _Hunted, I can feel it coming._  
 _Keep me under cover in what could have been._

 _Sweet despair, feel you devour me..._  
 _Silently, oh won't you carry me_  
 _Home…_

 _Taken down, I give into what I can't disguise._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_  
 _Broken down, I give into what I cannot hide._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Don't make a sound now._  
 _Don't make a sound now._  
 _Maybe it won't find us after all._

 _Carry..._

 _Me…_

 _Home…_

 _Taken down, I give into what I can't disguise._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_  
 _Broken down, I give into what I cannot hide._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Don't make a sound now._  
 _Don't make a sound now._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Don't make a sound now._  
 _Don't make a sound now._  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Broken down, I give in_

 _I give in_  
 _Oooh I surrender_

 _Oooh I surrender_

 **Chapter 1: Into the Fog**

 _ **~*Aimsley*~**_

Aimsley Gray slowly lifted her head, a low groan spilling from her lips as her eyes fluttered open. She reached up to press one hand against her temple, where there was an intense, throbbing pain. She grimaced, her fingertips finding the thick, sticky mess that was the cause of her pain.

There, just above her brow, was a large gash that ran across her forehead, spanning nearly the length of her index finger. Luckily, it wasn't too deep. But, when she pulled her fingers away from the wound and brought them down to gaze at them, blood coated her fingertips, warm and crimson in color.

She closed her eyes as a wave of nausea rolled through her, struggling to keep the contents of her stomach down as she drew deep breaths in through her nose and slowly blew them back out through her mouth.

When the roiling of her stomach had subsided, she slowly opened her eyes once more, the chocolate colored orbs taking in her surroundings. But that was a difficult task to do when all that greeted her was fog, the thick cloud making it impossible to see anything further than a couple feet ahead of her.

She looked to first her left, then her right. When neither seemed to help her identify where she was, she looked down, finding that she was lying on the asphalt, broken white lines running down the center of the expanse of black top. A road… She was lying in the middle of the road.

She placed her hands on the hard surface of the road and slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. With that small feat accomplished, she began to push herself up onto her feet. But that task proved to be more difficult than the previous one as she swayed on her feet, staggering and reaching up to cradle her aching head in her delicate hands.

She groaned as a fresh wave of nausea rolled through her, this one more intense than the last. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, mentally coaching herself not to lose her guts all over the pavement as she took deep, slow breaths in through her nose and slowly blew them out of her mouth.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably only a matter of minutes, she managed to regain her composure and began to stagger down the street, swaying and stumbling as her eyes flickered here and there. Slowly, she made her way down the street, looking for a street sign, a landmark, something, _anything,_ that would help her pinpoint her location.

When she finally came to a sign, she peered up at it, her dark eyes reading the large, white print against the dark background.

 _Welcome to…_

"Silent Hill…" she murmured, reading the words aloud even as her dark brows furrowed.

– _ **=Xuchilbara=–**_

Xuchilbara staggered down the vacant hallways of the old hospital, lumbering slowly, awkwardly, as he dragged the Great Knife behind him. His senses were sharp, his ears listening for any signs of movement, his eyes roaming around the deserted building for any signs of life, his nostrils flaring as they took in the various scents of his surroundings. Surely there was a nurse somewhere. After all, this was their domain. Just like the Red God himself, these creatures lurked in the darkness, constantly searching for their next victim. However, unlike the hulking beast in the pyramid-shaped helmet, the bubble headed nurses didn't feel confident outside of these hallways and, therefore, never roamed outside of the abandoned hospital or the old asylum.

Unlike some of the other nightmarish creatures in this realm, the nurses didn't have free reign of the fog-laced town that was Silent Hill. Instead, their territory was limited. And this fact only served to annoy the Red God since the nurses were his favorite prey – with the exception of humans.

There was just something about those bubble-headed nurses that pleased the punisher and executioner of Silent Hill. Maybe it was the way their hideous faces were wrapped tight in bandages, hiding their identities from the rest of the world just as his own identity was hidden beneath the wretched, pyramid-shaped helmet he was forced to bear. Maybe it was the nurse's uniforms they wore that were so tight they looked like a second skin, the neckline of their dresses plunging low to expose ample, pale cleavage that was littered with purple veins and the hem of their dresses cut so short that their panties showed when they were bent over. Maybe it was the way their heels clicked and clacked on the cold, blood-soaked tiles of the floor as they walked along the length of the hallways of the hospital or the asylum. Maybe it was the exaggerated, jerky motions they made while staggering down the hallway or the quick, precise method in which they sliced their weapons through the air at their prey.

Or maybe, just maybe, it was the sounds they made, the breathy sighs they gave when he stroked their pale skin or the sharp gasps that spilled from behind the bandages that covered their faces when they heard something moving, the unearthly shrieks they gave when he brutalized their curvy little bodies or the agonized moans they voiced when he plunged his aching erection deep inside of them. Yes. That was probably what he found most appealing about the bubble-headed nurses, the delicious sounds they spilled for him. In fact, just _thinking_ about the sounds that poured from the curvy little creatures caused his cock to twitch in arousal, blood rushing south to the organ that lied hidden beneath the long, flowing apron he'd made from human flesh.

And when the sound of a very distinct _CLICK… CLICK… CLACK… CLICK… CLICK… CLACK…_ met his ears, his thin, black lips curled up into a sinister grin of epic proportions.

Oh yes. He'd find himself a little bubble-headed nurse…

 _ **~*Aimsley*~**_

Aimsley staggered through the streets of Silent Hill, her dark eyes darting this way and that as she scoured the fog-laced town for any signs of life. She'd been stumbling down Carroll Street for half an hour now and the only things she'd come across so far were the thick fog that seemed to shroud the aptly named silent town and the empty store fronts. She hadn't met a _single_ person so far, man _or_ woman. All the vehicles she'd spotted were parked, having been abandoned on the side of the street by their previous owners. Hell she hadn't even seen a _dog_ trotting down the street! It was like the town was… _dead._

She shook her head at the thought. Surely _someone_ lived in the gloomy little town. She'd find them eventually. She just had to keep looking.

She passed an old bowling alley and spotted what looked like a diner. A big grin stretched across her face as she read the dusty, grimy old sign that hung above the door, Sal's Diner.

" _Food…"_ she thought aloud as she shuffled towards the building.

It was a very welcome thought.

Aimsley opened the door, nearly jumping right out of her skin when a small bell gave a _TING-A-LING_ from above the door. She froze on the spot, pressing one hand over her racing heart, and took a couple slow, shaky breaths as she tried to regain her composure.

When her heart rate had finally returned to its normal pace, she took a couple steps into the diner, letting the door close behind her.

Her eyes roamed around the place, taking in her surroundings. There were tables and booths arranged against one wall and over in front of the large windows at the front of the diner. Tables with either two or four chairs were scattered throughout the center of the building. There was an old jukebox pressed up against the far wall at the back of the diner and a counter was located to her left that had a large, open space in the wall behind it, displaying part of the kitchen. The floor, which had once been black and white checkered tile, was now disgusting, dingy shades of brown, covered in dust, grime, and God knows what else. The black upholstery on the booths and chairs was torn, nearly shredded in some places, and the stuffing was falling out onto the seats and the floor. The walls, once white, were now chipped, the paint flaking off in large chunks. And the tables and countertops were covered in a thick layer of dust. Pictures that had once rested on the walls were lying on the floor, frames warped and glass shattered and scattered over the tiles.

"What the hell happened to this place…?" she murmured quietly to herself as she made her way towards the counter.

She walked around the counter and over to the door that led to the kitchen, pushing it open and slipping inside.

Upon entering the kitchen, she discovered large, steel appliances that were more orange than gray, rust covering the sides and fronts of the refrigerators, the stoves, the area around the fryers, and even the surfaces that had once been used for grilling food.

It was then that it really sank in for her… Silent Hill was a ghost town, having been abandoned by its residents long ago – probably _decades_ ago, judging by the current state of the buildings she'd come across so far and the harsh reality that she still had yet to find a _single_ person in the 30 minutes she'd been stumbling through the fog-shrouded town.

She was alone in Silent Hill… and she had no idea how to get out.

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she heard the sound of something skittering across the floor. Her hand flew out to wrap her fingers around the handle of a large skillet before she even realized what she was doing, her fight or flight instinct kicking in as the sound of the scurrying creature drew closer.

Slowly, she craned her neck around the side of the grill and her brown eyes grew real wide, her grip on the handle of the skillet faltering as she her eyes landed on the source of the sound.

There on the floor, just around the corner from her, was the dead body of some poor, unfortunate man, his clothes smudged with dirt and coated in a thick layer of blood. His eyes were wide open, pale and glazed over, and his mouth was hanging open, gaping like a dead fish on dry land. His head was tipped back, gray face and throat exposed and his lifeless hands were twisted, fingers forming a clutching motion in front of his chest. But the body was quickly forgotten when she heard a loud, wet, squishing sound.

Aimsley's dark brows furrowed and she took a hesitant step forward, the toes of her brown Doc Martins barely resting on the dirty tiles of the floor as she began to tiptoe towards the body. She inched closer, her curiosity getting the better of her. And that was when it happened.

The loud, wet, squishing sounds were coming from the gaping wound in the dead man's chest. And, from that opening emerged a large, brown insect. The closest thing it resembled was a cockroach on steroids, dark in color and bearing some resemblance to a long-bodied beetle. Its legs were long, its body much larger than that of even the largest species of cockroaches and bearing a long, stinger-looking appendage at the end of its body. She gasped in horror as the thing crawled out of the man's chest and up the column of his neck, only to skitter across his face and towards his open mouth.

Aimsley started to gag, quickly pressing one hand over her mouth as she staggered backwards, and the insect ceased its movement momentarily. Then it turned the top half of its body towards her and let out the most ungodly shriek, its mandibles and jaws opening as it screamed at her.

She shrieked, her eyes growing wide with fright and the skillet slipping right out of her grasp as jumped backwards. But that only set the creature into motion. It quickly turned itself around, scuttling across the dead man's body just as fast as its legs would carry it.

It was heading right for her, mouth open as it screeched and growled at her.

Aimsley did the only thing she could think of. She clambered up onto the top of the grill she was standing next to and hoped to hell it wouldn't climb up after her. But the demonic looking insect never slowed its pursuit. Instead, it scurried right up the front of the grill, heading right towards her.

She began to panic, her breath coming in quick, harsh pants as she struggled to think of a solution. But she'd never been one to think when faced with danger. She just reacted, reaching out to grab a metal spatula from the spot where it sat in a cup with other cooking utensils there on the grill and lashing out at the creature.

The first swing missed, the insidious insect skittering in the opposite direction. But the second one didn't, slicing through the air and severing one of the creature's legs. It shrieked in pain and anger, growling and quickening its pace as it made it up onto the top of the grill and started across it towards Aimsley.

She struck, quick and hard, and managed to cut the stinger off of the horrid insect. But that only served to further intensify its rage and it lunged at her with renewed vigor, making her jump back to avoid being landed on.

Her third strike missed, as did the fourth. The creature was growing quicker, which didn't seem possible, considering the fact that she'd already succeeded in amputating one of its legs. But her fifth swing didn't miss. In fact, it cut the nightmarish creature in half.

The insect threw its head back, letting out an ear-piercing screech of pain, and tried to lash out at her with its teeth. It writhed and bucked, squirming against the metal spatula that had severed it in half and squealing loudly.

Aimsley's dark eyes grew real wide as the realization that the bug still hadn't died sank in and she decided right then and there to abort her mission of finding food.

She left the spatula _right_ where it was, letting it fall onto the bottom half of the insect, and hopped off of the grill, grabbing a large chef's knife from the cup of utensils as the terrifying bug squirmed, trying to get its top half to follow her.

But Aimsley avoided it, darting out the back door of the diner and into the abandoned alley behind it.

Once outside, she pressed herself against the door, gasping for air and tipping her head back to rest it against the door as she let her eyes close for a couple moments as she struggled to calm her racing heart. She took deep breaths in through her nose, slowly blowing them out of her mouth, basking in the cool surface of the door behind her.

When she opened her eyes, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and clutched the hilt of her knife tighter, her eyes locking on the figure as she watched the it move through the fog, stumbling towards her.

Her dark brows furrowed as she watched the figure draw closer. Its motions were downright unnatural as it staggered down the alley towards her, its feet spread wide and its thighs pressed together as its long torso moved in an almost serpentine motion with its feet shuffling in a slow, awkward manner. It walked on the balls of its feet, its heels barely touching the pavement but facing outward as the strange creature headed towards her. It couldn't have been a human. No human she'd ever met had walked like that.

When the creature came close enough that she could get a good look at it, she wished it hadn't. It looked like something out of a nightmare, its skin a pale shade of brown, dark veins littering the thick skin that covered its body. It had no face… and no arms. It gave a wet, wheezing sound as it moved, winding its torso from one side to the other as it stumbled along. But, what made the creature even more terrifying was the fact that there was a large, gaping hole in its chest – much like the dead man she'd discovered back in the kitchen of the diner – and a thin, black liquid oozed from it, running down the thing's torso and legs to drip onto the ground, where it landed with a sizzling noise. She realized then just what it was… acid.

She gasped, trying to back up, but was met with the harsh reality that she couldn't. With the door pressed up against her back, she was trapped. There was nowhere to go, no way to run. And the creature was drawing closer.

Aimsley raised her knife into the air, her fight or flight reaction kicking in as she remained silent, hoping that maybe it wouldn't see her. After all, the wretched thing didn't have any eyes or ears. Maybe if she just remained motionless, it would leave.

But that wasn't the case. Instead, it only drew closer, wheezing and hissing at her. And, when it was standing just a few feet away from her, it came to a stuttering halt, the top half of its body twisting from one side to the other and then tipping back before a spray of hot, black acid shot out of the gaping hole in its chest towards her.

Aimsley screamed, quickly hitting her knees and scrambling in the opposite direction as the acid met the door behind her, sizzling as it ate its way through the thick, once-white, metal structure.

She pushed herself to her feet, running along the back of the building as the creature slowly turned its awkward body towards her and prepared to launch another stream of black liquid at her. She ducked but not in time and some of the acid landed on her brown leather jacket, sizzling as it began to eat through the thick material. She was quick to shed the jacket, wriggling as she yanked the sleeves down first one arm and then the other, quickly abandoning her outer layer of clothing.

Her dark eyes darted around the alley behind the diner. She realized that she had to act, and fast. She couldn't allow herself to be trapped in either corner of the alley or the creature would have ample opportunities to kill her.

Then a thought hit her. She had to get _behind_ the creature. It couldn't shoot acid from its back, could it? Surely there wasn't another one of those oozing, black holes in its back… right? If she could just get behind the creature, she could try to find a weak spot in its thick hide and kill it.

The next 10 minutes became a series of dart, duck, and slime. She'd dart along one of the brick walls of the alley, duck when she heard the creature hiss, and a gob of thin, black acid would come shooting out of the creature and hit the wall closest to her, forming a horrible pile of slime that tried to eat its way through the bricks of the abandoned buildings.

But, finally, she managed to circle around the creature. Its movements were slow and awkward, making it nearly impossible to turn to face her, especially when she moved with it, calculating her steps with those of the creature's.

Aimsley raised her knife, her eyes scouring over the figure's body, and quickly found the large, exaggerated ribcage the creature possessed along its back. She decided quickly, her motions swift and precise as she brought the knife down into the space between the creature's ribs. It shrieked, hissing, and jerked backwards. But Aimsley twisted the knife, hoping to tear the creature's heart – if it even had one – wide open.

The strange figure wheezed, that disgusting, unnatural sound, and she turned the knife in the opposite direction as thick, black liquid began to ooze from the creature's back. It slumped forward, onto its knees, before falling face first onto the pavement. But Aimsley wasn't done yet.

She pierced the figure's body over and over, stabbing it again and again until there was a large puddle of black liquid beneath the creature, spreading across the pavement in the alley. She had to make sure.

Aimsley plunged the knife into the creature one last time, hearing it give one last shuddering breath, and then fell backwards, landing hard on her ass on the pavement of the abandoned alley.

As she stared at the lifeless creature that lied face down on the ground, she began to pant, her breaths coming in quick, shallow gasps as she scooted herself across the asphalt on her hands and feet in an awkward crabwalk.

When her back met the brick wall behind her, she pulled herself up onto her feet, using the wall for support as her knees shook, threatening to give out and send her toppling to the floor. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the lying figure of the creature.

It was then that she was forced to realize just how serious the situation was. She was stranded in a town she didn't know, a town whose only inhabitants seemed to be unimaginable creatures – creatures that looked like they were straight out of the nightmares of someone that was tripping on some pretty heavy acid – that sought only to end her life. But nothing compared to the fact that she had no idea how to get _out_ of that town.

She was alone… in an unfamiliar place… full of creatures that wanted to kill her… and she had no way to escape…

– _ **=Xuchilbara=–**_

Xuchilbara followed the sound of clacking heels on the blood-stained tiles of the hospital floor, his movements slow and exaggerated as he drug the large Great Knife behind him.

He lumbered down the empty hallways of the old hospital, his ears focused intently on his prey, until he rounded the corner and found her there, staggering down the hallway in that awkward, jerky shuffle, scalpel clutched tightly in one hand. But she stopped when he rounded the corner, tilting her head first to one side and then the other as if she could sense him but couldn't see him.

He stopped, taking a moment to let his eyes rake over his prey as he sized her up. She was a mere 5'2" compared to his impressive 7'0" frame. Her face was wrapped tightly in gauze, earning her and the rest of her species the nickname "bubble-headed nurse", and a little white nurse's hat sat on top of her head. He took in the smooth, pale column of her neck, long and fragile-looking, before his eyes roamed down to her chest.

A deep groan rumbled up from his firm, broad chest as his garnet colored orbs lingered there, taking in the plunging neckline of her dress as it dipped down to expose the ample cleavage of her large, pale breasts, the dark veins standing out in stark contrast against the smooth, creamy skin. Blood was spattered across the front of her dress and the length of her arms, probably from a recent kill, if the blood that was smeared all over her tiny hands and dripping from her scalpel was any indication. The sight made his cock twitch beneath the cover of his apron and his long, black tongue snaked out of his mouth to slide over his thin, black lips as he took in the size of those breasts, so large and full. He felt his cock twitch once more and his nostrils flared before he forced his eyes lower, raking them over the slender shape of her stomach and the sensual flare of her hips.

Finally, his eyes traveled down past the hem of her dress, a deep purr coursing up from his throat as he was greeted with the sight of those long, sturdy legs and small feet that were crammed into the simple, white, 3-inch heels.

Oh yes. He would have this little nurse.

His lips curled up into a sinister grin at just the thought and his grip on the hilt of the Great Knife tightened as he stalked towards her. She gave a little gasp and a jerky tilt of her head, lifting her scalpel into the air as she heard his heavy footsteps drawing closer, the loud _SCREEECH, SCRAAAAAPE, SCREEECH_ of his blade against the tiles of the floor announcing his presence to her.

She tilted her head to the other side, voicing another of those sharp little gasps, and took a step towards him, her black-tipped fingers gripping her weapon tightly as she took yet another stilted step in his direction.

Xuchilbara couldn't help but chuckle at that, a deep, rumbling sound that bubbled up from his chest. The little thing was braver than the rest of her species. Most would have turned and started in the other direction by now. But here she was, advancing on him, weapon held high and ready to pierce the air.

And when he reached out with his free hand, wrapping it around her pale throat, she lashed out at him with that weapon, piercing the thick flesh of his arm, tearing through the rippling muscle that lied beneath it and adding to the collection of scars and wounds that littered his impressive frame. Her reward was a low, guttural snarl that coursed up from the depths of his expansive chest.

Upon hearing the warning he issued, she grew still in his grasp, ceasing her attack and peering up at him with her head tilted to one side. If she didn't realize then who he was, the punisher and executioner of Silent Hill, the fiend that stalked the nightmarish realm when darkness shrouded the town, he wouldn't have any qualms with enlightening her. He was the creature that ruled over all the others in that realm, the one that possessed the most dominating presence, and she would submit to him, willingly or otherwise. And she would soon realize that whatever he wanted, he would take it.

The Red God tightened his grasp on the nurse's throat, lifting her up off of the floor, and she began to choke and gasp, dropping her scalpel and using both hands to claw at him, her black-tipped fingers scrambling over his large hand as she struggled to free herself from his grasp. He felt her nails piercing his flesh, trying desperately to rip his hand away from her throat, but he only lifted her higher into the air. Her whole body swayed, her torso writhing and her legs flailing, as he brought her closer to the rust-coated, pyramid-shaped helmet that sat upon his head, the helmet that was coated in the blood of his victims from the decades of his reign there in Silent Hill, and gave a primal growl.

Her body shuddered then and she grew still. Apparently, she'd heeded the message that there was no escaping from his grasp. He would do as he pleased with her and there was _nothing_ she could to do stop him.

He carried her towards the open door of one of the many rooms there in the abandoned hospital. Once he'd entered the room, he used his shoulder to slam the door shut before propping the large Great Knife up against the door, effectively preventing any means of escape for the little nurse. Then he carried her over to the old gurney that was pushed up against one wall of the room and slammed her down against it, his thin, black lips curling up into a wicked grin as he heard a sharp gasp spill from her lips – if she had any – from behind the bandages that covered her wretched face.

Xuchilbara tightened his grip around her pale throat for a moment, glaring down at her from behind his helmet and eliciting another snarl, this one holding the promise of severe punishment if she were to try to escape from his clutches, before releasing her and using both of his large hands to find the seam that ran down the front of her dress. He yanked on the two sides of her uniform, ripping it open and sending the buttons flying in every direction, tugging and tearing his way clear down to the bottom of her dress. Once he'd rendered it useless, coaxing a loud hiss from the nurse that lied sprawled out beneath his hungry gaze, he was quick to shove the two sides of her dress out of his way, his large hands finding her slender stomach and slowly working their way up over the smooth, silky skin.

His hands wandered north, traveling the length of her torso until they found the soft swell of her breasts. They paused there, cupping the generous mounds firmly and giving them a rough squeeze. The nurse gasped, her back arching towards his firm grasp and her head tipping back slightly, and he voiced a deep, rumbling purr of approval as he began to knead and squeeze the flesh that filled his large, greedy hands.

After just a few moments, he could feel the puckered peaks of her nipples pressing firmly against the rough, calloused skin of his palms, blatantly displaying her pleasure. She voiced another of those breathy moans and arched her back, pressing herself more firmly against his hands. His cock twitched beneath the covering of his apron and, suddenly, touching her wasn't enough.

He leaned down until the downward slope of the front of his helmet pressed into her bare shoulder, snaking his long, black tongue out of his mouth to slide it over the rigid peak of her nipple. She gave a shaky little sigh and he rumbled his response, the sound low in his throat as he slowly swirled the warm, wet muscle over the sensitive skin of her breast. She whined, arching towards his mouth, and the tip of his helmet pricked the rise of her breast.

His reaction was instant. He moved to latch his mouth onto the spot, his tongue lapping at the wound as his lips sucked greedily, eager to catch the blood her body spilled for him – a delicious mix of salt and sugar. The bubble-headed nurses weren't his favorite prey just because of their wicked curves and homicidal tendencies. Their flesh was tender and sweet to the taste, their blood sticky and sugary. They could satisfy many of his insatiable desires – the desire for flesh, the desire for sex, the desire for releasing his pent up anger and frustration, and even the desire for feeling the life slowly drain from another sinful soul.

Yes. There were many reasons why the bubble-headed nurses were his favorite prey. And here, now, he would satisfy those urges.

 _Get psycho  
I wanna get psycho  
Get psycho  
I wanna, wanna, wanna, wanna_

 _I wanna get psycho  
Scratch my itch  
Give me your power glowing, juicy flowing, red hot meaning of life  
It's not enough to have a little piece  
I want the whole damn thing now  
Can you dig it?_

 _Need to get psycho  
Wanna hear you scream  
Tell me to take you, scare you, fuck you  
After we finish the show  
It's not enough, you listening whore?  
You're one twisted little fuck  
And now you wanna get psycho with me_

A snarl ripped from his throat as he parted his thin, black lips, his wicked mouth opening to reveal a set of thin, sharpened teeth, and he sank his teeth into the soft, tender flesh, piercing the swell of the little nurse's opposite breast. She gave a yowl and her body jerked against him as the blood began to spill from the wound, the crimson liquid flowing down over the ample mounds of her breasts and pooling between them.

Xuchilbara eased his head back, quick to find the end of the trail, which had found its way clear down to her navel already, and begin lapping it up, his tongue eagerly licking and lips sucking at her soft flesh in an attempt to get every drop of the sweet, heady taste of the little nurse's blood. He growled, a low, husky sound that rumbled up from deep within his chest, as he was greeted with the delicious taste of the crimson liquid. He followed it clear up from her stomach to the crevice that lied between her breasts. Then he made his way back over to the wound he'd made and latched his mouth onto it, licking and sucking until he felt the flow starting to slow.

Satisfied, he captured her nipple between his lips, suckling greedily and coaxing a purr of approval from the little nurse as he slowly slid one hand up the length of her thigh, his fingers creeping higher and higher until they met the barrier of her lacy, red panties. His fingers danced along the hem, tracing it up the curve between her thigh and her pelvis before he found the strap that held the fabric in place on her hip and yanked. He eased his head back as his ears were greeted with a satisfying _RIIIIIP_ as the lace tore away from her body, leaving her completely bare, sprawled out beneath his hungry gaze as his cock twitched from behind his apron.

His nostrils flared as the scent of the little nurse's desire hit him, his eyes drifting shut and his head tipping back as his erection strained against the apron that was tied around his waist. His nostrils flared once more, trying to capture and hold the delicious scent.

He couldn't wait.

Both of his hands slid down to her creamy thighs, gripping the backs of them and yanking her down to the end of the gurney before one of his hands reached down to find the tie that held his apron on, quickly working it loose even as his other hand found her abdomen and pressed down on it to hold her firmly in place.

He heard a sharp gasp spill from the nurse's lips and raised his gaze to meet her bandage-covered face, finding that she was looking at him – at least he thought she was. He had no idea what lied beneath all those bandages. But, if she had eyes, they were locked on him, watching his every move intently with her head raised so that she could get a clear view of him. And the thought of her watching him only made his impressive erection swell even further.

It also made his decision on what his next move would be a lot easier.

He used his hands to pry her thighs apart, spreading them wide and quickly stepping in between them before one of his hands pressed down on her stomach, holding her firmly against the gurney as his other hand reached down to grasp his straining erection. He brought the broad head down to her entrance, giving a primal growl as he found that it was slick, coated in her desire, and warm.

With a snarl, the Red God gave a quick, hard thrust, plunging his length inside of the little nurse, burying himself clear down to the hilt in her wet heat. Gone was his restraint and, in its place, was sheer abandonment. The beast within him, the one that was driven by lust and the insatiable need to release all that pent up anger and frustration, took over, his hands finding the nurse's hips and gripping them tightly as he rutted against her. His pace was quick and merciless, his thrusts harsh and unforgiving.

The sounds that left him were no longer human but were something much more primal, much more sinister. He tipped his head back, voicing a low groan as he chased that release. It was all that mattered. Not the nurse's whimpers and yelps as he wrapped one hand around her throat and clutched it tightly, not the sharp smacking of flesh against flesh as he drove his hips into hers, not the harsh growls that were coursing up from his throat or the blood-soaked walls that were surrounding them. All that mattered was the mind-numbing bliss that would come when he finally reached that peak.

And, when he found it, he roared to the heavens, his head thrown back as his hips jerked and stuttered, spilling inside of the nurse in hot, wet bursts. His body trembled, his chest heaving as he struggled to draw oxygen into his lungs. Sweat dripped down his body and his heart thudded against his ribs as he looked down at the little nurse.

He tipped his head to one side upon discovering that her head was tipped back, her neck twisted at an awkward angle.

He hadn't realized he'd snapped her neck but, then again, he'd been consumed by his baser instincts – to fuck the little nurse until he was sated. Still, it was a shame. This particular nurse had actually been more satisfying than the others he'd encountered during his decades' worth of ruling over the darkness that shrouded Silent Hill. It was disappointing to discover that he'd killed her in the process of achieving his own satisfaction. But it wasn't the first time he'd killed one of the nurses or another one of the creatures there in his domain while seeking that sweet release.

He shook his head at himself and studied the nurse's lifeless body, his blood red eyes roaming down the length of her delectable little body.

Finally, he made his decision. He grabbed the nurse around the neck, lifting her off of the gurney, and pressed her up against the wall. He wasn't finished with her yet.

And as he buried himself between her thighs once more, he leaned down to sink his teeth into the soft, tender flesh of her throat, snarling as the taste of her delicious blood flowed freely, gushing into his mouth and down his chin to drip onto his chest and stomach. He was practically bathing in her blood when he realized something… The nurse wasn't dead yet. In fact, she struggled with a renewed vigor as she thrashed against the wall, struggling once more to free herself from his grip as he drank deeply, thrusting harshly once more, taking from the little nurse, even as he gave.

 _ **~*Aimsley*~**_

Aimsley was leaning against the back of the diner in the abandoned alley, her back pressed against the brick wall, her eyes closed tight as she gasped for air. Her breaths came in quick, shallow pants. She reached up to cradle her head in her delicate hands, drawing in sharp, shuddering breaths as she struggled to keep it together, her legs shaking and threatening to send her toppling onto the pavement beneath her.

If it would've been a scene from one of the many horror movies she'd watched over the years, she probably would've laughed, seeing the damsel in distress standing there in an abandoned alley with the dead body of some nightmarish creature, hyperventilating with her eyes squeezed shut. But this wasn't a movie. And she wasn't an actress getting paid to look like an idiot in the face of danger.

This was real, _very_ real. And she wasn't laughing.

When the sound of approaching footsteps met her ears, her dark eyes snapped open, darting around the gloomy, fog-ridden alley until they found the source of the sound.

She breathed a sigh of relief, a wobbly grin of epic proportions stretching across her face and her chest clenching tight as she felt her eyes welling up with tears.

A figure broke through the fog, the only living human she'd seen so far, and she discovered that it was a young man in a military uniform. He boasted the traditional National Guard garb: a pair of cargo, camouflage pants that bore a mottled beige, light brown, and forest green pattern with a matching jacket that fit him snugly, a plain, beige t-shirt, and a pair of military-issued boots that were a shade somewhere between beige and gray. He stood at about 6'4" and was broad in the shoulders but narrow in the hips. His hair was light brown in color, kept in a style that was longer on the top and shorter down the sides of his head and the nape of his neck, and, as he grew closer, she could see that his eyes were a steely color. He had long sideburns that trailed off into stubble growing along his jaw, on his chin, and framing his mouth.

His brows furrowed as his gaze met hers and she pushed herself off of the wall, advancing towards him as fast as her wobbly legs would carry her.

Once she reached him, she brought her arms up, wrapping them tightly around his neck and hugging him close.

"Oh my God…" she sighed breathlessly, "You have _no_ idea how good it feels to see you."

She felt him stiffen in her embrace and was quick to pull back, tucking her arms behind her back and clasping her hands together as she lowered her head so that her eyes met the pavement beneath her.

"Sorry…" she apologized, her voice soft and quiet as she avoided his gaze, "I just… I haven't seen any other humans – well not any that were _alive_ anyway… and I just… I was really happy to see you."

"It's okay," she heard the young man say, "I'm just not exactly the hugging type. I don't do all that touchy-feely stuff."

She gave a slow nod and lifted her head slightly, peering up at him from beneath her long, dark lashes as her big, brown eyes located him once more.

"Sorry," she repeated, a sheepish grin curling at her lips before she quickly lowered her eyes once more.

She just barely caught the motion of him shrugging his broad shoulders out of the corner of her eyes and she slowly lifted her head, chancing another glance at him. She found that he had a strong, firm jawline, full lips, slender cheeks. His chin was rounded, his nose a little on the long side, neither too thin nor too wide. He wasn't exactly hot but he wasn't unattractive either.

Aimsley decided to give introductions a try, slowly extending her hand towards him and offering it to him. But he stared down at her hand first and then up at her face, not moving an inch.

She gave a slow nod and mimicked the motion of a handshake in thin air, giving a little smile as she said, "Hi, my name's Aimsley. Aimsley Gray."

He gave a slight incline of his head then and reached out to offer her his hand. She accepted it, discovering that he gave her a firm handshake but was quick to slide his hand back out of hers. She frowned. Jesus! Did he think she had leprosy or something?

She tucked her arms behind her back once more, clasping her hands together tightly to deter herself from trying to make any more friendly gestures, and asked, "Can I ask your name?"

Silence was her only answer.

Aimsley heaved a sigh and nodded her head. Right. Well, it didn't look like this guy was going to be much help. It was _just_ her luck! She'd _finally_ found another living human and they turned out to be an asshole.

"Right," she said, "Well, you can stay here. I'm gonna get the hell outta here before another one of _those_ things gets here."

She gestured to the dead creature that was lying face down on the ground before walking around the mystery man and heading down the alley towards the direction of the main road.

She'd only made it a few steps before she heard heavy footsteps following her. She was quick to steal a peek over her shoulder and discovered that it was the mystery man.

She slowed her pace, letting him catch up to her, his long legs easily eating up the distance that separated them until he walked side-by-side with her.

Once they reached the entrance of the alley, stepping out onto the sidewalk that bordered Carroll Street, they were greeted by a cool breeze. Aimsley shuddered, tugging the sleeves of her thin, black, long-sleeved shirt down over her hands as the wind caught her long, dark chocolate colored waves, blowing them in the breeze.

She was surprised to hear the rustle of fabric from just behind her and she turned her head just in time to see the mystery man removing his jacket.

Her dark brows furrowed as she watched him, opening her mouth to ask, "What are you doing? You'll get cold –,"

She was shocked when he reached out, draping his jacket over her slender shoulders. She couldn't help the smile that curled at her lips as she reached up and wrapped his jacket around her, burrowing even deeper into the warmth it offered.

"Go ahead," he told her, "Put it on. You're shivering."

"But I can't!" she started to protest, "You'll get cold –,"

"I kept it a steady 60 degrees where I lived before I wound up here. Trust me, I'll be fine," he assured her, nodding in the direction of his jacket before he repeated, "Go ahead."

She gave a little nod and a smile to show her gratitude, quickly stuffing her arms into the sleeves and losing herself in the massive jacket. It was huge on her and reasonably so, when considering the fact that the man it belonged to was 6'4" and firm with muscle compared to her petite 5'3" frame. But Aimsley didn't care. It was nice and warm. And Mr. Mystery didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you…" she murmured quietly, offering him a shy little smile.

He simply shrugged, as if it was nothing, and changed the subject, inquiring, "Wanna check the diner? See if they have any food in there?"

"No!" she was quick to answer, earning herself a confused expression from Mr. Mystery.

His brows furrowed and she informed him, "Just… trust me. You don't wanna go in there."

He gave a slight nod and replied, "Well… I guess we'll have to look for food somewhere else then."

" _We…?"_ she ventured to ask.

"We," he confirmed with a nod, "The odds of us surviving alone are much slimmer than those of us surviving together. I saw what you did to that thing back there, that… armless man –,"

"That was _not_ a man!" she cried, interrupting him, "I don't know what it was, but it wasn't a man."

He nodded, agreeing, "Fair enough. But, as I was saying, I saw what you did to that… thing. And, like you pointed out, you're the only other living person I've stumbled onto so far. I think we'd be better off if we stuck together."

She nodded energetically in response and looked both ways before returning her gaze to him and questioning, "So… Which way do we go?"

He pointed in the direction she'd already come from before arriving on Carroll Street and announced, "That way leads to a dead end. We'd be better off heading in the other direction."

Aimsley gave another nod and watched as Mr. Mystery started down the sidewalk. She was quick to follow, not wasting any time in catching up to him, and glanced down at his jacket. Upon closer inspection, she could see that the nametag that was stitched into the jacket read "Kuhl". She couldn't help but laugh at that. Mr. Mystery's last name was Kuhl. And he apparently thought he was real cool. Sure. It was ridiculous to laugh at something so trivial, so corny, but it felt good to laugh for the first time since she'd woken up in the fog-ridden town of Silent Hill.

"What's so funny?" her stoic companion asked her.

"Oh nothing," she lied.

"You're a terrible liar," he accused, "People don't laugh at nothing… unless, of course, they're crazy... Are you crazy?"

He stole a glance over at her, those steel colored eyes searching her features intently, and she only laughed harder, shaking her head and finally admitting, "Your nametag says 'Kuhl'. But I think I'm gonna call you Zero because, on a scale from 1 to 10, your sense of humor rates about a zero."

She saw his lips twitch for a second before he cracked a smile and began to chuckle, shaking his head at her.

"Shut up," he scolded lightly, "Let's go find some food."

* * *

Half an hour later, Aimsley and Zero were sitting on the floor of an abandoned apartment, huddled against the wall as they ate in silence.

Zero had introduced the place as his "temporary home", saying that it was where he'd been staying since he'd discovered it a few days after waking up in Silent Hill.

Her chocolate colored orbs gazed around her, taking in her surroundings. It wasn't a bad looking place, considering the shape of the rest of the town – at least what she'd seen of it so far. It was a comfortable space, a small, two-bedroom unit with a bathroom, living room, and kitchen. The paint was faded and the furniture was worn but it was in better shape than the dilapidated buildings she'd seen so far.

Her eyes peered down into the can of pears she was eating as she stabbed another slice of the delicious fruit with her fork, lifting it up to her mouth and taking a bite.

Since they'd left the abandoned alley behind the diner, Zero had begun to warm up to her a little, making the occasional comment about this building or that street as he'd guided her down the empty streets. He'd even answered a few of her questions, humoring her with small attempts at making friendly conversation. They'd made a stop at a grocery store, grabbing a few cans of food and snagging something to drink before getting back on the road again.

When they'd finally made it to the apartment he'd come to call home, he'd opened the door, surprising her when he'd asked her if she'd like to come in. While he'd told her earlier that they'd have better chances of surviving if they stuck together, she honestly hadn't expected him to stick to his word.

But he had. In fact, he'd insisted on it, giving a jerk of his head and telling her to "get her ass in here" when she seemed a little hesitant. And, finally, she'd agreed.

She nibbled at her slice of pear, finishing it off and stabbing another one before lifting it out of the can. She stole a peek over at Zero to find that he was eating ravioli straight out of the can.

Her face scrunched up and she voiced an "Eww!" upon discovering his choice of food.

He froze, glancing up at her with his fork halfway to his mouth, and asked, "What?"

" _Seriously?"_ she questioned, "I mean I know ravioli's good and all but you're gonna eat it straight out of the fucking can?"

"Electricity doesn't exist here in Silent Hill," he informed her, "So I can't exactly nuke it."

She grimaced, sticking her tongue out as she gave a full-body shudder, and exclaimed, _"LECK!"_

He gave a slight grin and lifted another bite up to his mouth, cramming the whole piece into his mouth in slow motion just to tease her. Her whole face scrunched up and she shook her head hard, shuddering. It only made his grin stretch even further across his face before he broke out into a deep, hearty chuckle.

"It's all cooked before they process it anyway," he explained.

"Doesn't make it any less gross," she pointed out, "It's still cold."

He simply shrugged, cramming another bite into his mouth.

She sighed, rolling her eyes at him, and returned her attention to her pear, lifting it up to her mouth to begin nibbling on it once more.

But she found that she couldn't resist stealing another peek at him. She was amazed to see him cram two pieces of the Italian cuisine into his mouth at once.

"Jesus!" she cried, "How big is your fucking mouth anyway?"

That set him off. Hell he nearly choked on his food and he had to set his can down on the floor next to him as his whole body began to shake with laughter.

"Big enough," was his reply when he was finally able to speak again.

Her dark brows rose and she nodded.

" _I'll_ say…" she mumbled before returning her attention to her own food and working on making it pull the disappearing act.

When their food was gone, they lounged back against the wall, her leaning against the wall on one side of the room and him resting against the wall that joined hers, their feet nearly touching and their eyes nearly closed as they tilted their heads back against the wall behind them.

"So, where were you?" Aimsley asked absently.

"What?" he questioned, lifting his head and glancing in her direction, his steely colored eyes meeting her soft, brown ones.

"Where were you before you woke up stranded here in Silent Hill?" she inquired, rewording her question in an attempt to clarify things.

He gave a slow nod, tipping his head back once more, and answered, "I was on my way to drill. Never made it, as you can guess. Instead, I woke up here, in this godforsaken place."

She nodded in response and he asked, "What about you? Where were you?"

Aimsley's dark brows furrowed as she wracked her brain, searching through her memories. But her silence drug on as she realized that she didn't remember where she'd been before she woke up there in Silent Hill. In fact… she didn't remember _anything_ before she woke up on the road in the fog-covered town.

"Well…?" her companion prompted.

"I… I don't remember…" she replied.

He shook his head, stating, "It can't be any worse than it is here. It's not like I'm gonna tell anybody."

He gestured with his hands around the room as if to say "Who the hell would I tell?"

But she shook her head, insisting, "That's just it… I really don't remember. I don't remember _anything_ that happened before I woke up here in Silent Hill, lying face down on the road just outside of town. I… I remember my name but that's it…"

Zero's brows furrowed and he asked, "Well… Did you have a purse with you or anything? Anything that you could check for information?"

She stared up at him with her big, brown eyes wide as she stated, "I don't know. I didn't think to check. The first thing on my mind was finding out where I was and what was going on."

He nodded in understanding. But Aimsley couldn't shake the fact that she didn't know anything about herself from before she'd arrived at Silent Hill. Hell she didn't even know _how_ she'd arrived at Silent Hill!

She felt the tears welling in her eyes as the confusion and frustration overwhelmed her, her thoughts racing as she realized that she had no idea who her family was, where she'd worked, or even how old she was. She honestly didn't know how she'd even remembered her own name but it had slipped out so naturally when she'd tried to introduce herself to Zero.

As if sensing her dilemma, he broke through her rampant thoughts, murmuring a soft, "Hey… You in there?"

He slowly waved a hand in front of her face and her chocolate colored orbs locked on him as she returned to the present. She saw a frown curl at his lips and felt the rough pads of his thumbs wiping at her cheeks, batting away the moisture that had leaked from the corners of her eyes. She hadn't even realized that the first tears were starting to fall.

"It doesn't matter," he told her.

"But it _does_ matter!" she cried, "How can you say that?!"

He was silent for a moment before giving a slow nod.

"You're right," he said, using his hands to push himself up onto his feet.

Her dark brows furrowed and she asked, "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"We're gonna go figure out where you woke up when you arrived at Silent Hill, see if there's anything there to help identify who you are. Surely there's _something,"_ he stated.

Aimsley was quick to push herself up onto her feet, following after him as he headed over to the front door of the apartment, sliding the chain back and flipping the lock on the door to unlock it. He tugged the door open and headed out into the hall, holding the door open for her to follow.

They made their way out of the apartment block and down the street. He started leading her back towards the alley they'd met in. But they only made it halfway there before loud, wailing sirens started to go off.

Aimsley was quick to cover her ears, her dark eyes growing real wide as she glanced over at her companion.

"What's going on?!" she cried, shouting loudly to be heard over the wailing sirens.

"Shit!" he cursed, reaching out to wrap one hand around her arm and dragging her down the street.

"What's going on?!" she repeated, feeling her heart race as his eyes searched the abandoned streets.

"We can't be here!" he tried to explain.

"What?! What do you mean?!" she questioned.

"We have to find some place to hide!" he elaborated.

"Why?!" she demanded.

"The darkness is coming!" he shouted.

 _Darkness?_ What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"But I don't under–," she started before he cut her off, stopping in his tracks and tugging her around to face him, grasping both of her arms in a firm grip as he reminded her, "That thing you saw today? Behind the alley?"

She nodded.

"There are more creatures, some _way_ worse than that one, that lurk in the darkness. We can't be here. We have to find shelter. _Now!"_ he explained.

She gave a jerky nod and he swiveled his head around, his eyes darting around wildly as he glanced around at their surroundings.

Then she heard it, the clicking of toenails on the pavement, the howling that broke through the shrill wails of the sirens.

Her muscles tensed, her face paling, as she slowly turned her head to find a pack of rabid, hairless dogs racing down the street. They were headed right for her…

"Fuck!" she heard Zero curse before he reached back with one hand to pull a gun from the waistband of his pants.

He checked it quickly, muttering, "Four rounds…"

Four? He only had four fucking rounds?

She stole a quick glance in the direction of the dogs, doing the math in her head, and counted 7 of the beasts loping towards them.

"That's not gonna be enough, Kuhl!" she was quick to inform him.

"It'll have to be," he said, "Because I'm gonna try to pick some of them off, give you a head start."

"You're _what?!"_ she cried, reaching out to grab his hand and start sprinting down the street, "I don't fucking _think_ so! You said we're sticking together and, by damn, that's what we're gonna fucking do!"

Aimsley raced down the street, dragging her companion with her as her dark eyes scanned the street for any noticeable places to hide. While there were plenty of abandoned buildings, there was no guarantee that they would be unlocked. And they couldn't exactly afford to chance it with the dogs gaining on them.

"Turn here!" Zero instructed.

"What?" she asked, glancing over at him.

"Turn!" he cried, yanking her in the direction of the forest that surrounded the town as the sirens began to fade.

"A fucking _forest?!"_ she shouted, "Are you fucking insane?! You honestly think we'll have the advantage there?"

"We won't have time to get into any of those buildings," he explained, "And we don't have time to take a chance at finding out if they're locked or not. The forest is the only shot we've got. If we keep going on that pavement, we'll wear out quick and they'll catch up to us."

"Oh! And a fucking forest is the answer? I don't know if you know this or not but I'm kind of clumsy," she informed him.

"Then don't trip," he told her.

"Oh yeah. It's that fucking easy," she grumbled as she let him drag her past the tree-line and into the woods.

"Your life depends on it," he reminded her.

She swallowed hard. Yeah. It really did. That was the problem.

"So what's the plan?" she asked.

"We find a good, sturdy tree, you climb, and I try to pick them off," he told her in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I don't like that plan," she disagreed.

"Well it's the only plan we've got," he countered.

"Well think of a new one," she demanded.

"No time," he argued.

She knew he was right. She could hear the dogs gaining on them, their howls like a war cry as they grew closer, their feet crunching the leaves beneath them.

"Fine!" she consented, "But you climb up with me instead of staying on the ground."

"Fine!" he finally agreed.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Then her foot got caught on a root that was raised above the ground and she went flying through the air, a cry of horror and surprise spilling from her lips as she hit the ground and slid across the forest floor. She was pushing herself up onto her feet when she felt a set of strong hands on her sides, pulling at her and trying to help her regain her balance.

" _Climb!"_ she heard Zero order from somewhere behind her.

Her eyes scoured the forest for any trees close enough to them with branches that were low enough to the ground for her to swing herself up with. And, to her utter horror, she didn't find a _single_ one. All of the trees were too tall, their branches too far off the ground for her to reach.

"I can't!" she cried, feeling her chest tighten and her breaths start to come in quick, shallow pants, "The branches aren't low enough!"

"Aimsley, you have to climb!" he demanded.

She opened her mouth to spout off something smart but she didn't get the chance. It all happened so quickly.

She saw Zero turn around, gun raised in the air, and heard the shots ring out.

One… Whimper… Two… Three… Whimper… Four… Click… Click…

She heard the dogs getting closer until, suddenly, they stopped.

Slowly, Aimsley turned around, the hair on the back of her neck standing straight and her dark eyes locking on the feral beasts that were now gathered around her and her companion in a half-moon shaped pattern.

They snarled and snapped, bearing their fangs as they advanced on Aimsley and Zero.

And then it happened.

The first one lunged…

– _ **=Xuchilbara=–**_

Xuchilbara's nostrils flared as an unfamiliar scent washed over his senses. He lifted his head, tipping it back and taking a deep breath in an attempt to confirm his suspicions.

The scent was an unfamiliar one, one that he hadn't smelled in _years._ It was clean, pure, untainted. And there in his hellish domain, _no_ one was free from sin. Only once in his decades of reigning as the punisher and executioner of the dark realm of Silent Hill had he come across an innocent soul.

He turned his head, inhaling deeply once more, and dropped the bubble-headed nurse's legs, letting her limp, lifeless form slide down the chipped, once-white paint of the wall behind her and onto the dirty, blood-stained tile of the hospital floor beneath him with an audible _THUD_. He turned, his blood red eyes searching the room from behind the large, rust-coated, pyramid-shaped helmet that covered his demonic face, and easily located his favorite weapon of choice, the massive, rust-covered knife that leaned against a nearby wall.

He stalked over to the Great Knife and wrapped one hand around the impressive hilt, dragging it behind him with a loud _SCRAAAAAAPE, SCREEECH, SCRAAAAAAPE_ as he headed for the exit of the room.

 _ **~*Aimsley*~**_

Aimsley pressed herself against the rough bark of the tree behind her, her brown eyes wide and her mouth forming a perfect "O" of both surprise and horror. Her body began to tremble, tears stinging the back of her eyes, as she watched the brutal display before her.

There, not 20 yards away from her, a group of ravenous, mangy-looking mongrels was tearing a man to shreds, ripping the tender meat right off of his bones as he writhed in agony, struggling to ward them off the best he could as he swung his arms and legs in an attempt to inflict pain upon the animals and chase them off. But it was no use.

His blood-curdling screams echoed throughout the fog-ridden forest as the beasts feasted on him, grabbing pieces of flesh and muscle and shaking their heads violently to tear it off of his body. This man had helped her find food. He'd helped her find shelter. He'd tried to protect her. Hell he'd even given her his jacket to keep her warm! There was _nothing_ she wanted more than to help him. But she knew that she couldn't. The dogs would devour his body until they'd gotten their fill. And there was nothing she could do about it, not a _damn_ thing.

Aimsley knew that she couldn't run. The creatures would surely pursue her, eager for another hunt, another kill, if she tried. She knew she couldn't drive them away. She had no weapon, no means of protecting herself or inflicting pain on the wild beasts. She knew she couldn't climb the tree she currently had her back wedged against. None of the branches were low enough for her to reach. And that only left her with one option: to wait, silently pressed against the tree, and hope that the beasts would get their fill of the only living human she'd come into contact with since waking up in the fog on an abandoned street and leave without deciding to make a meal of her too.

So she waited, tears slipping silently down her cheeks and her petite frame shaking like a leaf in a summer storm, as the vicious creatures devoured the man, snapping and snarling at one another if they should try to steal the favored piece of meat from another member of the pack. She waited while she watched them mutilate the man that had been kind enough to loan her his jacket, the man that hadn't been able to take her tears and had decided to take her back to the place where she'd woken up in the fog outside of Silent Hill with the hope of helping her uncover some part of her past. This was her fault. This was _all_ her fault.

She felt the tears slipping freely down her cheeks, her hands and knees shaking as she realized that, if she hadn't have let Zero leave the apartment, none of this would've happened. They would've still been back at the apartment, safe and sound. But now he was lying on the forest floor, covered in dirt and mud and his own blood as they ripped him to pieces, snarling and shaking their heads viciously as they tore large chunks of his flesh from his body and devoured them.

Finally, when there was nothing left but a marred skeleton, the mongrels lifted their heads, nostrils flaring as they took in the scents of their surroundings. One turned its head and its eerie, milky white eyes locked on her.

Aimsley gasped, her knees shaking as, one by one, the other four members of the pack turned their gaze upon her.

As the first beast took a step towards her, she felt her legs give out, sending her to the forest floor in a crumpled heap. She watched helplessly, her brown eyes leaking as the pack of ravenous mongrels drew closer…

– _ **=Xuchilbara=–**_

Xuchilbara made his way through the town, dragging the heavy Great Knife behind him. His motions were slow and cumbersome, his steps awkward and disjointed as he staggered down the main road of the hellish town that was Silent Hill.

He had to find the source of that scent.

If there _was_ an innocent soul in Silent Hill, it would surely die, either at the hands of the Order or some other fanatical cult following, one of the nightmarish creatures that stalked this realm, or Alessa herself. And Xuchilbara would not allow that. He was the punisher and executioner of the wicked souls there in the darkness of his domain. There was no denying that. But he was also the guardian and guide of the innocent. Unlike the wretched sinners he persecuted, innocent souls had no reason to be punished.

He stopped momentarily, tilting his head back and breathing in deep, his garnet colored orbs drifting shut as the scent grew stronger.

The Innocent One was near. But it was tainted by the scent of another, something much darker, much more sinister. He knew that scent…

A shudder ripped down his spine as he slowly turned, his crimson colored orbs landing on the source of the unmistakably insidious presence and narrowing slightly.

There she stood, his master, giggling childishly and clasping her delicate little hands together as that wicked grin curled at her lips.

"I see you've discovered the scent of Silent Hill's newest resident," she stated, her steel colored orbs gazing up at his towering frame as he glared back down at her from behind the burden he was forced to bear, her personal preference for making him suffer coming in the form of the crude, pyramid-shaped helmet that was bolted into his very bones.

Xuchilbara lifted his head slightly, peering at her from under his helmet, the bright crimson of his irises locked on her deceivingly innocent looking face as he stubbornly opted to remain silent.

The grin on the horrid little girl's face only stretched even wider as she let her eyes drift shut, tipping her head back and taking a few delicate whiffs before she continued on to say, "It's delicious, isn't it?"

His nostrils flared at that, his large hands clenching into fists at his sides and his grasp on his precious weapon tightening as she opened her eyes once more to peer up at him.

"Ahh… The scent tempts you, doesn't it?" she questioned, a knowing twinkle in those gray eyes.

Again, the Red God chose to remain silent.

"Of course it does, you wretched beast. How could something so sweet, so innocent and untainted, go unnoticed by a creature with a damned soul like yours?" she taunted, giving that maniacal little giggle once more.

Her words burrowed into his skull, infesting his brain like the creepers infiltrated the bodies of the unlucky souls there in the fog-ridden realm, digging deep into the recesses of his mind just as the large insect's teeth pierced the tender flesh of those they feasted upon.

His jaw clenched, his knuckles turning white as the anger began to rush through his veins, almost as if the very blood coursing through his veins was growing hotter. He narrowed his scarlet colored eyes even further at his tormentor as her words echoed in his head.

 _Wretched beast…_

 _Creature…_

 _Damned soul…_

Of course he was a wretched beast! She had created him! _She_ had been the one to breathe life into him with her own devilish little mind! _She_ had been the wicked creator, the demonic tormentor, for as long as he had reigned over his hellish domain. _She_ and she alone was the sole reason for his existence. And yet, he knew that, if he should kill her, he would cease to exist right along with her. She had created him with the intent of punishing and executing the damned souls there in Silent Hill. And she had forced him to bear his own torture in the form of the large helmet on his head and the impressive but cumbersome knife he wielded.

If anyone was a wretched beast, it was the demonic little creature standing before him. They called her Alessa. But he called her master.

The girl in question narrowed her eyes at him and spat, "I can hear your thoughts, you foul beast! Do you so easily forget who created you? This is not the time or the place to question my credibility. Right now, there are _much_ more pressing matters at hand. As if I would bother to grace you with my presence unless it was a dire necessity!"

A low snarl ripped from the throat of the creature in question and he took a step closer to his antagonist, advancing on her.

But she stopped him in his tracks when she spoke once more, quickly catching his attention once again as she informed him, "The soul with the sweet aroma is a _very_ precious soul. She must be protected fiercely and tended to with great care for she and she alone holds the key to your freedom."

Freedom?

He cocked his head to the side as the strange word met the empty holes where his ears should have been.

"Yes," she agreed with a nod, "Your freedom."

But how could that be? For _decades,_ he had stalked the realm of Silent Hill when "the darkness" shrouded the town, seeking out souls that were worthy of punishment and death. Never in all those years had she ever mentioned anything about freedom. No. Instead, she had enjoyed tormenting him, reveling in his anguish.

"I must admit, my pet," Alessa confessed, "I'm beginning to tire of your presence. In fact, your very presence in Silent Hill has become tedious over the years. Despite the countless souls you've persecuted during your reign, you have ceased to bring me any amusement. This place needs a little more excitement if you ask me."

Xuchilbara gripped the Great Knife tightly, his fingers flexing around the impressive hilt as her words sank in. After all these years, she was finally starting to grow tired of him? While he'd known the day would come, he was surprised to discover that it hadn't come sooner, that his reign over the darkness hadn't been ended long before this. Still, he refused to go down without a fight, at least not if he could help it.

The small girl before him rolled her eyes at this gesture and sighed in an apathetic tone, "Fortunately for you, you ungrateful beast, there will _always_ be a purpose for your existence here in Silent Hill. There will _always_ be wretched souls to punish, those sinful souls that are worthy of suffering and death. But I grow weary of this world. There is nothing here for me now that Christabella is dead. Her followers, the few that remain, are left without a leader. But mark my words, there will always be danger lurking here in Silent Hill. And, for that very reason, I have one last task that requires your… skills."

The Red God tilted his head once more, the heavy helmet pointing in an awkward angle at the gesture, and blinked, his gaze never wavering.

"I cannot stress to you just how important this innocent soul is, Xuchilbara," the tiny girl in front of him insisted, "Like me, she has suffered at the hands of others at the most influential point of her life, her childhood. She has known nothing but the pain of rejection, abandonment, neglect. You must find her, Xuchilbara, and you must protect her fiercely. Be her guardian, her guide. In her, you will find a new purpose for your very existence. If you succeed in this, you may keep her. She and she alone is the key to your freedom. Only she can bring an end to the burden you must bear. But if you fail, you will know suffering and pain worse than you could ever imagine…"

She could bring an end to his burden? How could that _possibly_ be?

She let her words sink deep into the recesses of his mind before she completed her strange request by stating, "You must hurry. The other creatures of this realm are beginning to notice that something is different in Silent Hill. And, to stack the deck in your favor, I will allow you to stalk this realm both under the cover of the darkness _and_ the fog."

Xuchilbara was amazed. She would let him roam the realm of Silent Hill both during the darkness _and_ in the fog? That meant that he could search for the Innocent One without having to abandon his mission. There would be nothing to hinder his progress, no limit to the distance he could travel or the time he could spend searching for her.

So lost in thought was the Red God that he didn't even notice Alessa skipping off into the shadows.

And when the sirens rang, announcing that the darkness was soon encroaching, he simply turned and lifted his head to the darkening sky, his nostrils flaring as he sought out that scent.

He was greeted with the most delicious aroma, one so sweet and intoxicating that his eyes fluttered shut and he basked in the scent for a few moments before his eyes snapped open and he took a step forward, following that maddening scent.

 _ **~*Aimsley*~**_

Aimsley watched with wide eyes as the creatures approached her, heads hung low and ears laid back as their nostrils flared, taking in her scent. They said that dogs could smell fear. And, if these… _things_ could smell fear, she probably _reeked_ of it.

She sat there on the forest floor, barely even blinking, as the wild dogs drew closer. It was the first time she'd gotten a good look at the creatures, not having dared to steal a glance back at them while they'd been pursuing her and Zero into the woods and not having been able to focus on anything but their mouths while they'd torn her former companion apart.

She noticed now that they were extremely emaciated, almost as if their skin was stretched tight over their bones. They almost looked like fawn colored greyhounds with their long faces, their tall, lean build, and their long, slender legs. They had that streamlined appearance and, if they'd been in good condition – rather than the emaciated state they were in – they would've looked like elegant sighthounds, built for stamina and speed. But these were shells of what had once been beautiful dogs, their eyes milky white and the fur having fallen off of their bodies, revealing only skin and the prominent bones that lied beneath it. They looked like death barely warmed over. And the fact that their muzzles were coated in blood from their recent kill, their teeth sharp and deadly, didn't make them appear any less frightening.

But Aimsley had no more tears to shed, her body frozen in fear and her big, brown eyes staring straight ahead at the approaching beasts as the first one stopped just in front of her.

She saw its nostrils flaring as it sniffed at her, leaning closer and taking deep breaths in as it sniffed at the space that separated the two of them, trying to capture her scent. It took another step closer, then another. And, the next thing she knew, it was leaning right in to sniff at her face.

Aimsley froze, squeezing her eyes shut tight even as her body went completely rigid. She waited, not daring to move or even breathe, and was utterly shocked when the creature slid its warm, wet tongue out of its mouth to lap at her cheek.

Her eyes popped right open and she looked at the rest of the pack, finding that they were drawing closer now too, all of them sniffing at her, their milky white eyes locked on her. Some licked at her hands and fingers, others at her face, as they surrounded her.

Her dark brows furrowed in confusion. It didn't make any sense. They'd just ripped the flesh from Zero's bones, feasting on him ravenously. Weren't they going to try to eat her too? Why were they being… _affectionate_ towards her when they'd literally ripped him to shreds _right_ before her eyes and devoured him?

She felt their bloody muzzles rubbing against her, felt them starting to nuzzle at her, smearing the thick, crimson liquid all over her face, her hands, and the jacket Zero had given her. Soon the nuzzles turned to nudges and her dark brows furrowed. The creature that had approached her first nudged at her persistently and the others gave a little whine, lowering their heads even further as they took a couple steps back from her. They whimpered, their eyes locked on her, waiting. For what, she didn't know.

When Aimsley remained motionless, the mongrel that was still prodding her with its nose began to nudge harder, nearly knocking her over. She didn't know what to do. While she didn't want to chance tempting the mangy mutts to lose their patience with her, she didn't know what it was that they wanted. If they didn't want to eat her or attack her, what could they possibly want from her?

She slowly placed both hands on the forest floor, feeling leaves and mud stick to her hands as she began to slowly push herself up onto her hands and knees. This action seemed to please the beast that had been prodding at her and it moved to shove its head firmly against her ass, making her gasp and nearly topple over, face forward, onto the ground in surprise. But she quickly righted herself, deciding that the creature behind her seemed to want to coax her into moving forward.

Nodding to herself, she took a deep breath, stealing up the courage, and pushed herself up onto her feet. Once she was standing, the pack moved in, edging towards her, and she froze once more, her big, brown eyes growing wide and panicky.

But, rather than attack, the animals merely nudged at her with their bloody muzzles, surrounding her and pushing her forward with their noses, herding her persistently through the forest. Her dark brows furrowed when she realized what the creatures were doing. Why would they behave in such a manner? What did they want from her?

But, rather than try to stop them, she simply let them guide her, surprised to discover that one of the creatures broke away from the pack to walk in front of her. She recognized it as the one that had approached her first back at the tree because of the scar that ran down over its right eye, stretching from above where its eyebrow would've been had it had any fur down onto its slender cheek – no doubt a battle wound it had earned over the years. And she came to the conclusion that it must've been the leader of the pack, the alpha dog.

The animals herded her further into the forest as the sun sank down beyond the horizon. It was now dark and the cool breeze was blowing at her hair and her face. She shivered, using her hands in an attempt to warm herself up as the temperatures plummeted. She rubbed her hands firmly against her arms over the jacket that had once belonged to Zero, occasionally pausing in her rubbing to bring her hands up to her mouth and blow a few warm breaths into them to return the warmth to them.

She was growing tired, her eyes barely able to stay open and her feet fumbling over the forest floor. She'd tripped three times already and the creatures had been quick to prod at her with their noses, prompting her up onto her feet once more to continue their journey. But she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to continue. What she wanted, more than anything, was a nice, warm place to curl up and go to sleep. After the day she'd had, the awful things she'd experienced, she wanted _nothing_ more than to fall into a deep sleep and forget any of it had ever happened.

Aimsley had no idea where the mongrels were taking her but, wherever they were going, she hoped to hell they made it there soon.

– _ **=Xuchilbara=–**_

Xuchilbara followed the scent of the innocent soul, letting his flaring nostrils lead the way as he cut a path through the center of Silent Hill, dragging the monstrous Great Knife behind him as he went. His movements were slow and awkward as he shuffled down the streets of the fog-ridden town that was his domain. Now that he was allowed to stalk the "fog world" as well as the darkness, he'd be able to track the Innocent One as long as necessary. And that would certainly be to his advantage.

Time was of the essence. If he didn't find the Innocent One soon, she could fall prey to one of the many nightmarish creatures that lurked in his hellish domain. While the lying figures didn't pose that much of a threat and the mannequins weren't exactly too dangerous either, there were _far_ worse creatures that stalked the realm of Silent Hill, creatures like the groaners that would rip her tender flesh from her bones or the nurses that would carve her up and mutilate her body beyond repair.

As he made his way down Carroll Street, the scent of her grew stronger and he knew that she'd been there. He followed the heady scent of the female, stopping at first an apartment block. He tilted his head to one side, the massive helmet upon his head leaning with his movement and straining his neck until he righted his head once more as he gazed up at the building. He pushed the door open and followed her trail to one of the apartments on the bottom floor of the complex.

He tried the door handle but found that it was locked. His thin, black lips pulled back from his sharp, slender teeth and he lunged at the door, throwing his broad shoulder into it. After four or five good attempts, the door finally collapsed, sending him staggering into the apartment.

He tipped his head back, taking deep breaths as his senses were flooded by her scent. His blood red eyes drifted shut as he basked in the aroma. It was intoxicating, exhilarating. The scent made his nostrils flare and his cock twitch beneath the cover of his apron.

She'd been here. There was no mistaking it.

Her scent was scattered throughout the room, the heady fragrance wafting to him like something sweet and forbidden.

He wanted to stay and bask in the delicious smell, to relish in her aroma and let himself indulge in a little self-gratification to relieve the stiffening that was starting to form between his thighs, but he knew that he had to find her before one of the other creatures of Silent Hill could.

Xuchilbara turned, making his way back out of the apartment and down the hall to exit the complex before he ventured on down the road. He didn't pause again until he came to a grocery store, his head tilting as he realized that, once again, her scent was stronger in that particular location. She'd stopped there.

His search resulted in nothing more than an empty grocery store so he moved on.

He paused once more at a diner, staggering into the diner and following her trail through the kitchen to the dead body of a human that had been feasted on by a group of creepers. He found half of a dead creeper lying motionless on the grill and the other half waiting at the door, as if it had tried to pursue her out the back door of the diner, despite the fact that it lacked half of its body.

Upon seeing his approaching figure, it screeched, opening its hideous mouth as it emitted a high-pitched shriek. He squished the squirming insect under his heavy boots before prying the back door of the diner open and heading out into the abandoned alley behind it, only to discover that the alley wasn't as abandoned as he had anticipated.

There, lying face down on the pavement, not far from the back door of the diner, was the corpse of a lying figure. Its back was riddled with wounds, some fairly small incisions and others like the attacker had tried to stab and then twist the knife to inflict more damage upon the creature.

The female's scent was everywhere, surrounding him and flooding his senses, but it wasn't the only scent in the alley. Along with the pungent odor of the deceased lying figure, there was another smell, this one also human. It was the scent of a male. And the thought of another male encroaching upon the female made Xuchilbara's large hands curl into fists, his nostrils flaring and his jaw clenching tight.

What made it even worse was the fact that the female had left the knife buried in the lying figure's body, buried down to the hilt, and had apparently joined the male. But the realization that the scent of this particular male had been present in both the grocery store _and_ the apartment had his blood nearly boiling.

Xuchilbara wasn't stupid. He knew the twisted inner-workings of the human mind, _especially_ those of the males. While he hadn't picked up any traces of the undeniable, musky scent that always accompanied male humans rutting with a female, he still didn't like the idea of the Innocent One being in close contact with another male – especially a male that he didn't know or trust. How could a mere human male protect her in this insidious realm? Surely he was no match for Xuchilbara's strength and knowledge of the creatures that stalked his domain. Surely he could not dominate or intimidate the creatures that wouldn't hesitate to challenge her.

Anger drove his motions as he stalked down the alley, following the path the Innocent One and the male had taken.

He found that their scents led right through the town, heading towards the general direction of the edge of town. But the two humans never made it that far. Instead, their trail veered off of the road and into the forest, followed closely by the distinct scent of a pack of groaners.

Xuchilbara snarled as he detected the scents of seven different dog-like creatures that had pursued the humans into the forest. He was pleased when he found the corpses of two of the groaners, a bullet-hole chiseling through the front of their skulls and emerging from the back of their skulls. Surely the male human had done this. He doubted the innocent female would've been capable of such brutality or precision.

As his search continued, he discovered the remains of one of the humans, or what was left of them at least. All that remained were the bones, teeth marks riddling the pink-tinged skeletal structure of the human. Groaners. There were no other creatures he knew of that would gnaw on the bones of their prey – unless it was the distant cousin of the groaners, the ferals.

He tipped his head back, taking in the scents of his surroundings, and discovered that the bones belonged to the male human. Upon making this discovery, a slow, sure grin stretched across his face and he resumed his search for the Innocent One. While she was in even graver danger now that she lacked a companion, he no longer had to worry about a male defiling the Innocent One that he was bound to protect.

He followed the heady aroma of the female further and further into the forest, his anxiety rising as he realized that what remained of the pack of groaners had followed her. In fact, it seemed as if they were hunting her, pursuing her further and further into the forest, stalking and herding her in the direction they wanted her to go.

His chest clenched when he stumbled upon a small cave, the earth around the bottom of the cave bearing scratch marks that proved it had clearly been dug out even further and the sides littered with leaves and mud to camouflage it while the top was covered in a thick layer of green moss. He knew then that the female had been guided _right_ to the den of the groaners.

Taking a deep breath, he dropped the Great Knife outside the den and fell to his knees, crawling through the mud, dirt, and fallen leaves towards the heart of the cave.

And what he discovered there made his breath catch in his throat.

There she lied, her cheek resting against the side of one of the slumbering beasts while the others had formed a cluster around her body, some of them stretched out against her and others curled up at her feet or near the groaner she was resting her head on. She wasn't dead. In fact, she was breathing steadily, her chest rising and falling slowly as she slumbered right there in the den of the groaners, the very predators that had herded her to what he'd surely thought would be her death.

Xuchilbara breathed a sigh of relief, the tension leaving his broad shoulders, and let his eyes rake over the small female. He discovered that she was just a tiny thing, her petite frame probably no taller than 5'3" compared to his lumbering 7'0" frame. She had delicate features, a slender nose, a small, rounded chin, slender cheeks. Her eyes, though closed, were framed with long, dark, thick lashes. Her lips were neither full nor thin but fell somewhere in between. But, much to his frustration, he couldn't come to a firm conclusion on what lied beneath that infuriatingly large jacket she was wearing. He didn't like her coverings. Not only did they reek of the human male's scent but they were also entirely too large for her.

He heaved a sigh and, much to his surprise, the female's lashes started to flutter.

She was waking up.

He cocked his head to one side, waiting, while the female slowly opened her eyes, those big, brown, doe eyes gazing up at him.

Her dark brows furrowed in confusion first before her eyes grew wide with fright and she opened her mouth, voicing a shrill shriek…

 _So sleep soundly in your beds tonight  
For judgement falls upon you at first light_

 _I'm the hand of God  
I'm the dark messiah  
I'm the vengeful one  
(Look inside and see what you're becoming)  
In the blackest moment of a dying world  
What have you become  
(Look inside and see what you're becoming)_

 **Name of the Story Comes from the Song:**

 _The Beauty and the Tragedy_ by Trading Yesterday

 **Lyrics from the Songs:**

 _Surrender_ by Digital Daggers

 _Meaning of Life_ by Disturbed

 _The Vengeful One_ by Disturbed


End file.
